The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-11-23
THE DROP IN QUlNiNE.
Cheaper TO Druggists but No Less to
Consumers.

Consumers.
Qulnne was the subject of conversation In
one of the principal downtown drug stores
Yesterday, says The Indianapolis journal, In
the course Of which a reporter asked the COM
FOUNDER of medicines II there has been any
decrease in the use of the drug In Gndianap
oils in late years.
well, sir" said the pill-maker. ~ think
there has undoubtedly been decrease OF Its
use for malaral troubles, because there has
been a decrease Of malaria, but at the same
time there has been constantly widening use
OF quinne In other diseases, and this, coupled
with an increasing population, has probably
kept the consump tion up to Its old standard.
The relative use is probably less. There is less
quinine usedI in Indiana now than In Con
nccticut."
slow do you account for the decrease Of
malaria 7"
''There are various theories for that such al
drainage Of the country and more heathful
food and clothing for the people. My own be.
lief Is that II is due to an entirely different
cause During the aiger' times all druggists
have specifics OF dozen kinds constantly on
hand, and usually prescription or two OF
their own. Ten or twelve years ago sort OF
among others Tom Barry concocted pill tba I
was death to fever and chllls 1t was made OF
capsicum, iron, and chinodlne-"
whats that ~
"Chlnoidine : Why it's what's left after all
the quinine and other alkalods have bee cx-
tracted from cinchona bark. The liquid Ia
boiled down and made into sticks like llcoricc.
But, as was saving these pills were labeled
liens Red Tonic Pills, and put on the mar
ket. The first year they sold about $4,000
worth, and put It in printer ink. The scheme
looked well. They had double-ender boxes,
with the tonic in one end and compound ca
thartlcs intthe other The second year they
put about s35, 900 IN ink, and took In $780, 900.
Then they thought they had struck bonanza,
and went In big but the next year the trade
fell fiat and never has amounted to anything
since. The truth is that there has been very
little trouble from malaria since then, and l
have no doubt those pills ran 1t out OF the
country.
very like; but why is 1t that quinne costs
at retail Just as much as ever, notwithstand'
ing the wholesale price is reducedW
"There are two reasons In the first place,
1t doesn't You get a dozen two grain cap.
sules for ID cents now, and you used to pay 30
cents for twenty-four grains of qunine. In
the second place, the cost OF the capsules and
the trouble OF filling them is something OF
Importance to the druggist. Besides, no one
wants more than dozen capsules for 10 cents:
A sick man would think medicine OF no use II
he could get q whole drug store for dime.
Human nature has always been that way.
Don't you remember that old duck In the
bible who wouldn't battle in the Jordan when
the prophet told him 10, just because II was
no better than the rivers In his own country"
what is quinine worth at wholesaler"
at ranges now from 32 to AZ cents per
ounce. according to the quantity purchased
that is, for the American article. The Ger.
man aulpiue Is a little cheaper.n
800 YOU think II will go up againl'
"No. Quinine will never bring 81 an ounce
again In this country, though there are people
who hug the deusion just as there were some
unfortunates who held their wheat during the
steady decline from war prices. They say
there is a man over In Decatur who bought
five hundred ounces OF quinlnc when II drop
ped from So 80 to 81 %. When 1t struck 81
he took five hundred more. At 81 80 he took
one thousand additional, and at 81 still anoth.
or thousand. He has II yet, and very much
fear he will lose money on It,"
"What is the basis of your assurance In this
matterW
"The nature Of things There is nothing
precarious about the supply as there used to
be. In old times the cinchona bark all came
from the South American forests. Men used
to 90 into the country, get on some high polnt,
and mark down the patches OF clnchona with
field glasses, which was easily done on account
of the color of the foliage. Forces OF men
were taken to these points, and every tree was
cut down and stripped of bark The high
price Of the article, and the rapid extermina
ton Of the trees caused an effort to be made
TO transplant and also to raise the tree from the
seed in other localities The result Is that now
there nre thousands Of acres Of cinchona for.
ests In Borneo, Sumstra, Java. Ceylon, and
some other places. There is a possibility OF
injury by cyclones but they would have to be
OF great extent TO affect the market"
"But are not these trees destroyed to obtain
the barkm
"Not at all. When tree is five or six in
ches through they begin using 1t by stripping
of the bark one third around the tree. This
strip is covered with gum and bandages and
heals over. The next year second strip Is
removed and the exposed wood Is treated In
the same way. The third year the remaining
strip is taken. The fourth year the new bark
on the first strip is ready for use, and Is taken
of so the tree IL continually producing
without any material injury to itself. But the
greatest advantage OF cultivation 10 the In
creased product. From the wild trees the
bark Yields only about 2 per cent. Of alkaloids.
The first stripping from the cultivated trees
yields ALWAYS per cent, and sometimes as
high as 5. The second siripplngs yield
from 10 10 l2 percent They are on the
second stripplngs now, and there is some curl.
osity to know what the third strippings will
do. II they keep on at this rate the bark will